


put this cake in your face

by ghosthunter



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, everyone is incredibly stupid and that's the colorado avalanche, food as a love language, tyson "gay panic" barrie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 08:50:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19269847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghosthunter/pseuds/ghosthunter
Summary: So Tyson has a big stupid crush on Gabe, or maybe he’s in love with Gabe, or something equally stupid where his heart and his brain and his dick are all on different pages. And because Tyson is a totally normal and well-adjusted adult, he’s baking his feelings about it.





	put this cake in your face

**Author's Note:**

  * For [llwyncelyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/llwyncelyn/gifts).



> congratulations babe :*
> 
>  
> 
> beta by @gotbackstrom. please enjoy the erstwhile diversification of my ship portfolio.

The thing about Gabe is - 

Well, there are a lot of things about Gabe, but the number one thing is that he’s so handsome that he short-circuits Tyson’s brain. Like, Tyson’s not an idiot, but Gabe sure makes him act like one. And then he ends up saying stupid shit like how Gabe is a stallion, or staring at him in a blind panic, and then he wants to march himself into the sea.

Only Colorado doesn’t exactly have a sea, and he’s pretty sure that EJ names one of his horses Landeskog just to make fun of Tyson, while making fun of Gabe in a package deal.

(EJ’s a dick.)

So Tyson has a big stupid crush on Gabe, or maybe he’s in love with Gabe, or something equally stupid where his heart and his brain and his dick are all on different pages. And because Tyson is a totally normal and well-adjusted adult, he’s baking his feelings about it.

Tyson really likes baking. And sure, he and his teammates aren’t actually allowed to eat his best recipes, but he thinks that the applesauce oatmeal cookies are pretty good, even if they are passably healthy. Even with the chocolate chips.

Besides, it’s the baking that eases the anxiety he feels when he thinks about Gabe, not the eating of them. Although he does have, like, three on the way to the rink in the morning. Whatever. They’re small. They’re made with oatmeal and applesauce. It’s healthy!

They go over well even though everyone chirps him about them being oatmeal, because, well, hockey players will eat anything sweet if it’s put in front of them and they’re told it’s remotely healthy. Except Willy, who he’s pretty sure only eats kale.

Gabe smacks him on the ass and says, “Thanks for the cookies, babe,” as he’s on his way out of the locker room, and Tyson stupidly parrots, “thanks,” like Gabe didn’t absolutely say thank you to him. Fortunately Gabe is apparently not even listening, and just waves a hand goodbye as he continues on down the hallway.

Tyson goes directly home and makes a batch of chocolate chip cookies from his favorite recipe, eats half the dough, and bakes the rest to take to morning skate the next day. Coach gives him a Look for baking cookies two days in a row. Because if Tyson baked them, he definitely ate them, which is definitely not on his diet plan. (And Coach would be right, even though technically Tyson didn’t eat any of the chocolate chip cookies, just the dough.)

Of course, cookies two days in a row means that EJ and Nate decide to stage an intervention before the baking progresses into the cake stage.

“Against our better judgement,” EJ says, spraying crumbs on Tyson. “Because while we’d love to get to cake stage, we can’t make the playoffs if we’re all carrying extra weight thanks to you bringing in dessert every day.”

Tyson is watching Gabe stuff a cookie in his mouth while he talks to Willy, who is not eating these cookies, thank you very much. Willy is apparently made of goddamned stone. These are Tyson’s best chocolate chip cookies.

“Not that we don’t totally agree that the best way to get back at Gabe for making you fall in love with him is to ruin his - “ Nate squints in Gabe’s direction. “Would you say that’s an eight pack?”

“Solid eight, maybe more,” EJ says, shoving another cookie in his mouth.

Tyson regrets not being on a team in California or Florida or - where else is close to the sea? - where he can walk directly into the ocean with all of his gear on and subsequently put himself out of his misery. Where’s an actual avalanche in Colorado when he needs it?

“On the bright side,” EJ is saying when Tyson tunes back in, “you won’t have time to bake anything tonight because we have a game.”

Erik Johnson is a great defenseman but he is an idiot.

 

Tyson brings snickerdoodles to practice the morning after the game, which they won, by the way, thanks to Tyson scoring the game winning goal, so thank you very much.

Only, coming in with cookies a third day in a row means that Coach sends Gabe to talk to him. Which is simultaneously what Tyson wants and absolutely the opposite of what Tyson wants, because it means he has to sit down and make words at Gabe in a semi-hockey context. It’s about hockey, but it’s also about why Tyson is baking cookies every night and bringing them into the locker room.

“Coach just thinks it would be better if you, you know, didn’t bring junk in every day,” Gabe says. He’s making it clear that he disagrees with this suggestion by eating one of the cookies he’d snagged from the plate. “He also said please email him the recipe so he can give it to his wife, so she can make them for some bake sale.”

Tyson laughs and it’s strangled in his throat.

“Are you,” Gabe asks, swallowing half the cookie. “Okay?”

Tyson’s brain spins. Is he okay? Not if he’s spending every night baking, no, but he’s like, _fine_. He’s not sick, he’s not dying, he’s just. Hung up. On Gabe.

And instead of saying anything normal, he just looks Gabe dead in the face and says, “I’m in love with you.”

Gabe blinks at him for a moment, then laughs. Tyson is an idiot, but for a second he thinks at the very least, Gabe is an idiot too, because it’s clear that Gabe doesn’t believe him.

This isn’t ideal, because Tyson’s said it, and he meant it, and Gabe doesn’t believe him. On the other hand, in the event Gabe doesn’t reciprocate these feelings, which Tyson is pretty sure he doesn’t, at least Gabe thinks he’s joking

“I love you, too, Tys, but you gotta cut it out with the cookies,” Gabe says.

“No,” Tyson says, and he can’t believe that the words care coming out of his mouth. He stares up at the ceiling and sighs. “No, I mean it.”

Tyson is the biggest idiot on the planet.

Since Tyson isn’t looking at Gabe, he can’t see anything Gabe’s face is doing. He doesn’t have a chance to guess what Gabe might be thinking.

“You’re serious?” Gabe finally asks. Tyson takes a deep breath and looks back at him.

“Yes,” Tyson says. Gabe stuffs the other half of his cookie in his mouth and chews, and Tyson seriously thinks about kicking him in the shins. He doesn’t want to hurt Gabe, because Gabe is many layers of important - to Tyson specifically, to the team, probably to other people who like him - but God, does he have to fight the urge.

When Gabe is finished chewing the cookie and swallows, he takes a deep breath. “You’re really serious?” he asks, again, like Tyson hasn’t already confirmed his embarrassing secret.

“Okay, well, I don’t know how many times you want me to say it,” Tyson says, “but I’m in love with you and I’ve been trying to bake my feelings out about it so that’s why I’ve been - “

Gabe leans in and kisses him. Kissing Gabe is not quite what Tyson expected, or even fantasized. First of all, his lips are a little gritty with cinnamon sugar from the snickerdoodles. Tyson doesn’t hate it, but he does feel a little like he’s getting exfoliated.

“Okay,” Tyson says when Gabe pulls back.

“Do you want to go to dinner?” Gabe asks him. “And just so we’re clear, it’s a date. You know, so you don’t have to bake your feelings out or anything about it.”

“No,” Tyson says, a little breathless. He’s absolutely not imagining the way Gabe’s smile slips off immediately or the way he deflates. “I want to _make_ you dinner, are you fucking kidding?”

Gabe laughs and shoves him, and Tyson slides off the bench and onto the floor, grinning the whole time.

**Author's Note:**

> on twitter @notedgoon


End file.
